Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth and next to last novel in the Harry Potter series by British author J. K. Rowling. Set during protagonist Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores the past of Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, and Harry's preparations for the final battle alongside his headmaster and mentor Albus Dumbledore. The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury and in the United States by Scholastic on 16 July 2005, as well as in several other countries. It sold nine million copies in the first 24 hours after its release, a record at the time which was eventually broken by its sequel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

There were many controversies before and after it was published, including the right to read the copies delivered prior to the release date in Canada. Reception to the novel was generally positive and it won several awards and honors, including the 2006 British Book of the Year award. Reviewers noted that the book took on a darker tone than its predecessors, though it did contain humor. Some considered the main themes to be love and death, and trust and redemption. The character development of Harry and several other teenage characters was also remarked upon.

Before publication, 1.4 million advanced orders were placed for Half-Blood Prince on Amazon.com, breaking the record held by the previous novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with 1.3 million. The initial print run for Half-Blood Prince was a record-breaking 10.8 million. Within the first 24 hours of release, the book sold 9 million copies worldwide, 2 million in the UK and about 6.9 million in the U.S., which prompted Scholastic to rush an additional 2.7 million copies into print. Within the first nine weeks of publication, 11 million copies of the U.S. edition were reported to have been sold. The U.S. audiobook, read by Jim Dale, set sales records with 165,000 sold over two days, besting the adaption of Order of the Phoenix by twenty percent.

On a personal note, my wife and I have read the Harry Potter novels and my teen daughters have read and re-read the books as well as viewed the movies. My hat is off to Rowling for such wonderful work.